An Illinois man with a long history of DUI and reckless-driving cases has been ordered to remain behind bars after prosecutors accused him of drunkenly barreling through a no-wake zone in a high-powered pontoon boat and causing a horrific crash that killed a woman on the Fox River.
Richard Stevenson, 45, of Lisle, Illinois, is facing reckless homicide and aggravated DUI charges after authorities said his 31-foot, triple-engine pontoon slammed into a smaller boat Saturday afternoon near McHenry, leaving a 48-year-old woman dead and her husband seriously injured.
Prosecutors said the crash happened around 2:30 p.m. on July 25, when Stevenson allegedly had the pontoon at full throttle in a posted no-wake zone. Investigators said the boat was traveling at an extreme rate of speed — reportedly as fast as 80 mph — when it struck the rear of a 20-foot Crownline boat.
The impact was catastrophic.
The pontoon allegedly rode up over the smaller vessel, killing the woman who was seated in the passenger seat. Prosecutors said in court that she was decapitated in the crash. Her name has not yet been released publicly.
Her husband, who was operating the Crownline, was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. Two people who had been riding on Stevenson’s pontoon were not seriously hurt, prosecutors said.
According to ABC7 Chicago, security footage from a home along the Fox River allegedly showed Stevenson’s pontoon racing along the water earlier that afternoon. The family who provided the video said the boat was seen heading south, then later north. About a minute after it passed again, they heard the violent collision.
Another video reportedly showed the pontoon passing by around 12:40 p.m., nearly two hours before the deadly crash.
When officers arrived, Stevenson’s pontoon had come to rest near the riverbank. Authorities said he was found near the shoreline, close to where the vessel had stopped.
Stevenson was taken to Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital. Prosecutors said testing later showed his blood alcohol concentration was at least .20, more than twice the legal limit. CBS Chicago reported prosecutors said his BAC was .236, nearly three times the legal limit.
Witnesses told investigators Stevenson had been drinking throughout the day. According to prosecutors, the two passengers on his boat later told police he had taken multiple shots of Fireball whiskey, and one passenger allegedly said Stevenson was traveling around 80 mph before the crash.
At a detention hearing Monday, prosecutors painted Stevenson as a repeat danger on the road and now on the water.
“This man was a ticking time-bomb and that bomb went off this past Saturday on the Fox River,” Deputy Chief Brian Miller argued in court.
Prosecutors said Stevenson’s past includes three prior DUI charges, three reckless-driving cases, four misdemeanor speeding offenses, and a fleeing-and-eluding-police case dating back to a period between 1997 and 2005. CBS Chicago also reported that he had a 2023 misdemeanor speeding violation for allegedly driving 26 to 34 mph over the speed limit.
Court records from Florida show Stevenson was also cited in Miami-Dade County in 2022 for careless operation of a boat. That case was resolved after he paid a penalty.
Stevenson’s defense attorney argued that he is a father of three and the sole provider for his family. But a McHenry County judge denied him pretrial release, ordering him to stay in jail as the case moves forward.
McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi L. Freese called the crash an “unimaginable loss” and said local waterways should be safe places for families, not scenes of preventable tragedy.
“Our rivers and lakes should be places where families can safely enjoy time together, not places where the reckless and impaired can turn a summer day into a tragedy,” Freese said in a statement.
“No family should have to endure the unimaginable loss suffered in this case,” she continued. “Our prayers go out to the victim’s family, and while nothing can undo the tragedy that occurred on the Fox River, our office is committed to pursuing justice for her, her loved ones, and our community.”
Stevenson is scheduled to return to court on August 5.
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